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Abstracts and Selections
600
The
Veterinary Journal.
at intervals with no alteration of the symptoms, and the patient died during the night. Next morning a post-mortem examination was made . On cutting into the abdomen the first thing which attracted attention was the stomach, which was enormously distended with ail- or gas; it was so large that it resembled a football and, of course, it extended posteriorly from under the ribs to the flanks . Its walls were thin, and on prickin g it collapsed in a manner which suggested that its muscular elasticity was wanting. The gas had no odour except from the medicines administered, and the organ was empty except for a few drops of liquid . The intestines had the blood-vessels of the venous system congested, but they contained no g as or air. The cause of death was cleady due to the. extreme distension of the stomach with 'c onsequent interference with respiration and the circulation of blood. It is curious that the dog did not expel the air from the organ during the frequent attempts to vomit; the explanation of that is, to my mind, the fact that the muscular fibre s of the organ were in a state of atony. The advent of the air into the stomach no doubt arose from the animal swallowin g it during the administration of the chloroform, and it is possible that the excessive slobbering and the muzzle together had something to do with it; at the same time I should not care to neglect any precaution to prevent getting bitten by an animal which even in the remotest degree might be affected with rabies.
Bbstracts
an~
Selections.
HOG CHOLERA. By F. R. COMBER , B.S.A., D .V.M. Former A ssistalzt State Veterinarian, Wisconsin, Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
THERE i,s no more vital que stion confronting the stock-raiser of t o-day than the disease known as· hog cholera. Synonyms: peste du porc (French), swine fever, pneumonia enteritis, pig typhoid, Schweinepest (German). This is an acute febrile di s,e ase which, as far as is known , affects only hog,s and which is characteriz·ed by extreme cont agiousness and hig h death-rate. It .i,s usual to speak of two form s of th is disease, i.e., the acute and chronic.
Hog- Cholera.
601
This is because 'Of the fact that some cases of the di s'e ase is sudd-en in its onset and rapid in its course, whereas in others the affected hogs lin ger for weeks or month s before death o~· r-ecovery. The causative agent is the same in both, the difference being the variation in virulence of the germ s and the resisting power of the ho gs. Enormous lo sses are caused yearly in the large hog-rai sing states of the Middle W-e st. Statistics verify the fact that many States los'e yearly an average of ovelf $r,ooo,ooo from this source alo-ne. The cause of ho g cholera is a virus, presumably a g-e rm. according to s'ome authors think it the bacillus chol,erasuis found in the blo·od, urine, and other body fluids and passes through a porcelain filter suffici-e ntly fine to withhold the minutest organisms visible through the most powerful mic,r oscope. F'Oor practical purpos-e s it may be considered a typical germ di seas,e. The viru s gains entrance to the body through the digestive tract or throu g h the broke n skin. Infection throu g h the air passages s:eldom ,occurs. The di sease is transmi tted by the introducti on of the virus either d j,rectly by the sick hog or any agent capable of carrying contaminated sub stanoes from place to plaoe. Wet, poorly ventilated pens, or anything that tend s to lower the vitality, renders the hog moore susceptible to the infection. Youn g pig are more susceptible than older ones, especially when in clOose quart'e rs . The period of incubation varies with the susceptibility of the animal, the virulenc-e of the germ , and the manner in which the g,e rm gains ent,rance to the body, and varies from a few. days to three weeks. Symp toms.- In the acute f.orm the animals die v-e ry suddenly in a fe w hours or at most after a few days' sickness" In the other fo'rm (the chronic), t he disease runs a longer course . The pigs fail to come to the trough for feed, refus'e to eat, or eat earth or othe,r indigestible substances, have chills and huddle tog'e ther t o keep warm, st and with back arched, hind feet cl os e together, belly tucked in, res,ent being disturbed, stagg,e r and fa ll ; their muscles and joints are stiff and sore, are oonstipated, for a few days, they dev,elop profuse diarrhcea which persists until death. Sometimes hav-e a hacking coug h and breathe fa st as r-e sult of changes in lungs. They show a pus-like di scharge from 48
602
The Veterinary J ournal.
eyes which often g ums lids together. Rise in temperature 104° to 109° F. The chronic form diff.ers from the acute largely in duraticn of disease. There is more marked evidence of digestiv.e d:sturbance, for ulcers usually form in the intestines when chronic cholera is pres'e nt, sometimes in this fOlrm the hogs eat fai rly well. Young hogs get stunted and ,e maciated and hair may drop off . Usually there is considerable reddening of the skin on the nose, ·ears, abdomen, inside of thigh s and pubic region; the redness becomes more inten se as death approaches. Treatment.-As soo n as cholera is suspected, a compet,e nt vet erinary should be called to make a po,sitive diagnosis . Vaccinate all hogs with serum if the disease is in your locality. D isinfed and whitewash pens each we,ek with quick lime or some gelr micidal agent. Feed laxative diet and pasture hogs some distance from h ighways and streams. Qu arantine for four weeks all hogs br ought to the farm. Post-mortem changes sh ould be looked for as follows: F r equently the skin a nd under sid,e of neck becomes dark red. The lymph g lands are en larged, con ges ted, and of a deep red colou r. T he ki,dneys are dotted with small pin-pointed blood spots which gives them a turkey egg appearance. In some cases the linin g membranes of the abdominal and lung cavities show red spo.ts or blotches, if the disease affects lungs, the organs exhibit changes characterjstic of pneumonia and pleurisy. In chronic cho].era intestinal ulcers are u sually fo u nd, have a dark c,e ntre and yellow margin, and raised above the surroundin g SUI-face of the intestine. The hea,r t and liver are normal in appearance. The serum preparation is '0.£ such a nature that it sho ul d not be undertaken by farmers themse lves, but should be under the control of trained men who have had experience in bacteriology and who are familiar w,;th disea ses of hogs. For this reason n o att empt has be,e n made to describe the d,e tails of the se,r um pr1od uction. It should be under stood that the vaccination against hog ,c ho lel-a do'es not cure ev,e ry case, for no known biological produ ct has thi s power. Yet the successes obtained demonstrate that it is t he o.nly reliable agent to us,e. Those who are interested in the subject are urged to co-operate with the state authorities who have contro l of this work and t o assist them in their effolrts to reduce to the minimum the mortality from this much-dreaded disea se. It is, only throu g h intelligent co-operation that we can expect to attain a final result which is aimed at in the eradication of ho g cholera as a seriou s menace to the hog-raising industry o f the country .-American Veterinary Review.
Gunshot Wounds.
60 3
GUNSHOT WOUNDS . By
PROFESSOR
L. A. MERR IL LAT. ChicaJ[o.
WE shall not attempt to describe a treatment for all of the 'Vario us wounds capable of being inflicted by firearms. Their varieties forbid in a short review of wound treatment, and the writer, like probably all American veterinarians, except a few in our Army who saw service in the Philippines, must plead inexperience. As the fund of information in this connection is about to be en larged by the untold range of experience and observation of our European confreres it wo uld be presumptuous for one in my position t<;> venture into this domain at this particular moment. In peace times veterinarians only rarely encounter wounds made by firearms, and when they are met they are generally from low-power g uns or shot-g uns. These, of co urse, inflict wounds of a different character than those of high-pressure rifles used by modern armies, saying nothing of shr~pne l , shells, bombs, ,grenades, &c., included in their ordnance. It is the wo un ds of these modern arms that interest us mo st to-day, and as peace may not always be our good fortune it stands us in hand to .acquaint ourselves with the present experiences of the able veterinarians of the European armies now in the fie ld. Later, when we shall have the opportunity of reviewing well-arranged reports, I shall attempt to give the readers of this Journal a well-connected description of the treatment of firearm wo unds compiled from the experiences of these able and experienced men. To-day I shall content myself with a few simple recommendations. The old custom of immediately searching fo r a bullet imbedded in the body has long since been abandoned. It is only the plainly felt subcutaneous bullet that is removed to-day. Those lodged deeper, even though they may have be en located by the R ontgen rays, are left strictly alone to become encysted or to form an abscess. In the latter event the bullet is rem oved when the pus of the well-matured abscess is evacuated. "Do not search for bullets unle ss they can be clearly felt through the skin, . but leave them to the tissues, where they will either be tolerated .or expelled by suppuration" (Cadeac). Thus Cadeac in a word ays about all there is to be especially said about extraction of
Th e Veterz"nary
:1 ournal.
bullets. The track of the bullet is not irrigated, nor is there any effort made to explore its depth s. Local antiseptic t reatment of the orifice to avert secondary infection is, however, faithfully followed , and the patient is watched continuously for febrile complication and for the ab scess that will disclose the location of the bullet. Antitetanic serum is always indicated and sho uld never be omitted in the management of firearm wo unds.-Amer. J ourn. of Vet . M ed.
'Wlar '!Aotes. TH E CAPTURE OF A By
A
GERMAN SHIP.
VETERINARY OFFI CER.-
THE outbreak of this War found many of us in curious places and outl andish spo ts, but to few of us was g iven the unique experience of being a passen g er aboard a German ship on the day that war was declared . Such, howeve,r, was my goo d fortune, and the narrative may possibly be interesting to readers of THE VETERINARY JOURNAL. On August I the outlook was v,ery black . A ustria had declared war on Serbia, and Germany had sent an ultimatum to R ussia, but it was thou ght by some that En g land would be able to ke,e p out of the trouble. Previous t o this I had made arrangements to vi sit Brit ish North Borneo and inspect the Government herds , and as I held , amongst other appointments, that of veterina ry su r geon to the Military Forces, I had received permission to proceed on short leave f'o.r this purpose. I asked at headquar ters if it was advisable to make my visit, but the answer was vague and I decided to risk it, and as events turned out I cannot say tllat I regret it. I lost two months of active service, but beli·eve I was of more use to the country in the East than I could h ave been with the Army . On A ugust 3 we left ingapore on the N. D .L. ship Sandakan , commanded by Captain M ull iman, a n officer p~ the • For his prompt tact and pluck in this affair this officer has been awarded the Freedom of the City of London and a su bstant ial portion of the prize money.
The
Veterinary Journal.
at intervals with no alteration of the symptoms, and the patient died during the night. Next morning a post-mortem examination was made . On cutting into the abdomen the first thing which attracted attention was the stomach, which was enormously distended with ail- or gas; it was so large that it resembled a football and, of course, it extended posteriorly from under the ribs to the flanks . Its walls were thin, and on prickin g it collapsed in a manner which suggested that its muscular elasticity was wanting. The gas had no odour except from the medicines administered, and the organ was empty except for a few drops of liquid . The intestines had the blood-vessels of the venous system congested, but they contained no g as or air. The cause of death was cleady due to the. extreme distension of the stomach with 'c onsequent interference with respiration and the circulation of blood. It is curious that the dog did not expel the air from the organ during the frequent attempts to vomit; the explanation of that is, to my mind, the fact that the muscular fibre s of the organ were in a state of atony. The advent of the air into the stomach no doubt arose from the animal swallowin g it during the administration of the chloroform, and it is possible that the excessive slobbering and the muzzle together had something to do with it; at the same time I should not care to neglect any precaution to prevent getting bitten by an animal which even in the remotest degree might be affected with rabies.
Bbstracts
an~
Selections.
HOG CHOLERA. By F. R. COMBER , B.S.A., D .V.M. Former A ssistalzt State Veterinarian, Wisconsin, Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.
THERE i,s no more vital que stion confronting the stock-raiser of t o-day than the disease known as· hog cholera. Synonyms: peste du porc (French), swine fever, pneumonia enteritis, pig typhoid, Schweinepest (German). This is an acute febrile di s,e ase which, as far as is known , affects only hog,s and which is characteriz·ed by extreme cont agiousness and hig h death-rate. It .i,s usual to speak of two form s of th is disease, i.e., the acute and chronic.
Hog- Cholera.
601
This is because 'Of the fact that some cases of the di s'e ase is sudd-en in its onset and rapid in its course, whereas in others the affected hogs lin ger for weeks or month s before death o~· r-ecovery. The causative agent is the same in both, the difference being the variation in virulence of the germ s and the resisting power of the ho gs. Enormous lo sses are caused yearly in the large hog-rai sing states of the Middle W-e st. Statistics verify the fact that many States los'e yearly an average of ovelf $r,ooo,ooo from this source alo-ne. The cause of ho g cholera is a virus, presumably a g-e rm. according to s'ome authors think it the bacillus chol,erasuis found in the blo·od, urine, and other body fluids and passes through a porcelain filter suffici-e ntly fine to withhold the minutest organisms visible through the most powerful mic,r oscope. F'Oor practical purpos-e s it may be considered a typical germ di seas,e. The viru s gains entrance to the body through the digestive tract or throu g h the broke n skin. Infection throu g h the air passages s:eldom ,occurs. The di sease is transmi tted by the introducti on of the virus either d j,rectly by the sick hog or any agent capable of carrying contaminated sub stanoes from place to plaoe. Wet, poorly ventilated pens, or anything that tend s to lower the vitality, renders the hog moore susceptible to the infection. Youn g pig are more susceptible than older ones, especially when in clOose quart'e rs . The period of incubation varies with the susceptibility of the animal, the virulenc-e of the germ , and the manner in which the g,e rm gains ent,rance to the body, and varies from a few. days to three weeks. Symp toms.- In the acute f.orm the animals die v-e ry suddenly in a fe w hours or at most after a few days' sickness" In the other fo'rm (the chronic), t he disease runs a longer course . The pigs fail to come to the trough for feed, refus'e to eat, or eat earth or othe,r indigestible substances, have chills and huddle tog'e ther t o keep warm, st and with back arched, hind feet cl os e together, belly tucked in, res,ent being disturbed, stagg,e r and fa ll ; their muscles and joints are stiff and sore, are oonstipated, for a few days, they dev,elop profuse diarrhcea which persists until death. Sometimes hav-e a hacking coug h and breathe fa st as r-e sult of changes in lungs. They show a pus-like di scharge from 48
602
The Veterinary J ournal.
eyes which often g ums lids together. Rise in temperature 104° to 109° F. The chronic form diff.ers from the acute largely in duraticn of disease. There is more marked evidence of digestiv.e d:sturbance, for ulcers usually form in the intestines when chronic cholera is pres'e nt, sometimes in this fOlrm the hogs eat fai rly well. Young hogs get stunted and ,e maciated and hair may drop off . Usually there is considerable reddening of the skin on the nose, ·ears, abdomen, inside of thigh s and pubic region; the redness becomes more inten se as death approaches. Treatment.-As soo n as cholera is suspected, a compet,e nt vet erinary should be called to make a po,sitive diagnosis . Vaccinate all hogs with serum if the disease is in your locality. D isinfed and whitewash pens each we,ek with quick lime or some gelr micidal agent. Feed laxative diet and pasture hogs some distance from h ighways and streams. Qu arantine for four weeks all hogs br ought to the farm. Post-mortem changes sh ould be looked for as follows: F r equently the skin a nd under sid,e of neck becomes dark red. The lymph g lands are en larged, con ges ted, and of a deep red colou r. T he ki,dneys are dotted with small pin-pointed blood spots which gives them a turkey egg appearance. In some cases the linin g membranes of the abdominal and lung cavities show red spo.ts or blotches, if the disease affects lungs, the organs exhibit changes characterjstic of pneumonia and pleurisy. In chronic cho].era intestinal ulcers are u sually fo u nd, have a dark c,e ntre and yellow margin, and raised above the surroundin g SUI-face of the intestine. The hea,r t and liver are normal in appearance. The serum preparation is '0.£ such a nature that it sho ul d not be undertaken by farmers themse lves, but should be under the control of trained men who have had experience in bacteriology and who are familiar w,;th disea ses of hogs. For this reason n o att empt has be,e n made to describe the d,e tails of the se,r um pr1od uction. It should be under stood that the vaccination against hog ,c ho lel-a do'es not cure ev,e ry case, for no known biological produ ct has thi s power. Yet the successes obtained demonstrate that it is t he o.nly reliable agent to us,e. Those who are interested in the subject are urged to co-operate with the state authorities who have contro l of this work and t o assist them in their effolrts to reduce to the minimum the mortality from this much-dreaded disea se. It is, only throu g h intelligent co-operation that we can expect to attain a final result which is aimed at in the eradication of ho g cholera as a seriou s menace to the hog-raising industry o f the country .-American Veterinary Review.
Gunshot Wounds.
60 3
GUNSHOT WOUNDS . By
PROFESSOR
L. A. MERR IL LAT. ChicaJ[o.
WE shall not attempt to describe a treatment for all of the 'Vario us wounds capable of being inflicted by firearms. Their varieties forbid in a short review of wound treatment, and the writer, like probably all American veterinarians, except a few in our Army who saw service in the Philippines, must plead inexperience. As the fund of information in this connection is about to be en larged by the untold range of experience and observation of our European confreres it wo uld be presumptuous for one in my position t<;> venture into this domain at this particular moment. In peace times veterinarians only rarely encounter wounds made by firearms, and when they are met they are generally from low-power g uns or shot-g uns. These, of co urse, inflict wounds of a different character than those of high-pressure rifles used by modern armies, saying nothing of shr~pne l , shells, bombs, ,grenades, &c., included in their ordnance. It is the wo un ds of these modern arms that interest us mo st to-day, and as peace may not always be our good fortune it stands us in hand to .acquaint ourselves with the present experiences of the able veterinarians of the European armies now in the fie ld. Later, when we shall have the opportunity of reviewing well-arranged reports, I shall attempt to give the readers of this Journal a well-connected description of the treatment of firearm wo unds compiled from the experiences of these able and experienced men. To-day I shall content myself with a few simple recommendations. The old custom of immediately searching fo r a bullet imbedded in the body has long since been abandoned. It is only the plainly felt subcutaneous bullet that is removed to-day. Those lodged deeper, even though they may have be en located by the R ontgen rays, are left strictly alone to become encysted or to form an abscess. In the latter event the bullet is rem oved when the pus of the well-matured abscess is evacuated. "Do not search for bullets unle ss they can be clearly felt through the skin, . but leave them to the tissues, where they will either be tolerated .or expelled by suppuration" (Cadeac). Thus Cadeac in a word ays about all there is to be especially said about extraction of
Th e Veterz"nary
:1 ournal.
bullets. The track of the bullet is not irrigated, nor is there any effort made to explore its depth s. Local antiseptic t reatment of the orifice to avert secondary infection is, however, faithfully followed , and the patient is watched continuously for febrile complication and for the ab scess that will disclose the location of the bullet. Antitetanic serum is always indicated and sho uld never be omitted in the management of firearm wo unds.-Amer. J ourn. of Vet . M ed.
'Wlar '!Aotes. TH E CAPTURE OF A By
A
GERMAN SHIP.
VETERINARY OFFI CER.-
THE outbreak of this War found many of us in curious places and outl andish spo ts, but to few of us was g iven the unique experience of being a passen g er aboard a German ship on the day that war was declared . Such, howeve,r, was my goo d fortune, and the narrative may possibly be interesting to readers of THE VETERINARY JOURNAL. On August I the outlook was v,ery black . A ustria had declared war on Serbia, and Germany had sent an ultimatum to R ussia, but it was thou ght by some that En g land would be able to ke,e p out of the trouble. Previous t o this I had made arrangements to vi sit Brit ish North Borneo and inspect the Government herds , and as I held , amongst other appointments, that of veterina ry su r geon to the Military Forces, I had received permission to proceed on short leave f'o.r this purpose. I asked at headquar ters if it was advisable to make my visit, but the answer was vague and I decided to risk it, and as events turned out I cannot say tllat I regret it. I lost two months of active service, but beli·eve I was of more use to the country in the East than I could h ave been with the Army . On A ugust 3 we left ingapore on the N. D .L. ship Sandakan , commanded by Captain M ull iman, a n officer p~ the • For his prompt tact and pluck in this affair this officer has been awarded the Freedom of the City of London and a su bstant ial portion of the prize money.